North Texas water polo teams are hopeful that the international competition in town will help their efforts to grow the sport.
This week, the Lewisville Independent School District's Westside Aquatic Center is hosting the FINA Women's Intercontinental Water Polo Tournament, featuring six teams from nations around the world in some of their final competition before the Summer Olympic qualifiers.
In between the world-stage games and practices, though, local high school teams are honing their own craft in the pool as well, and enjoying the extra attention to their sport.
"Not many people know about it. Some people don't even know we have a water polo team," said Flower Mound High School sophomore David Moulton.
Water polo just began growing in the North Texas region in recent years. One of the first options to come in was the Thunder club team, which still plays out of Lewisville with local boys and girls teams.
Now, schools like Flower Mound High School are starting clubs of their own.
"Before 2009 we probably had 40 to 50 teams playing throughout the state, and now we're well over 100," said Chris Cullen, aquatics director for the Denton Independent School Distrit, which now has three teams playing.
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However, the sport still room to grow.
It still operates in the high schools as an unsanctioned club team, keeping it unofficial in the districts and putting much of the financial burdens on the players.
Players and supporters in the area are hopeful that will soon change.
Cullen said the University Interscholastic League, the governing body for Texas high school athletics, is currently looking at water polo as a contender to be sanctioned.
Several of the world athletes practicing Wednesday said they, too, would be glad to see that and are hopeful to spread the sport more in North Texas and the United States.
Currently, much of the Team USA women's squad is made up of players from California.
The Thunder players and team leaders have been volunteering time during the international
tournament and were instrumental in bringing the tournament to town, happy to see more of a spotlight put on water polo locally.
